This invention relates to a flexible container suitable for containing a liquid, particularly, a liquid with a relatively high viscosity or a liquid sensitive to the contact with air.
Containers for packaging a liquid called bag-in boxes or bag-in cartons (hereinafter generally called xe2x80x9cbag-in cartonsxe2x80x9d) in which a flexible bag with a pouring outlet is contained in an outer box formed, for example, by a corrugated cardboard or a paperboard are well known. In general, they are formed by using a composite material consisting of, for example, a resin film and paper, and are often used for containing a liquid with a relatively low viscosity such as a beverage or liquid detergent. These containers having a bag each are handled in such a manner that when the contained liquid is taken out of the pouring outlet, air corresponding to the discharged liquid goes into the bag, or they are formed in such a manner that the bag is contracted to allow the contained liquid to be taken out.
A container forming a bag or a general bag-in carton allows almost all the quantity of the contained liquid to be easily taken out if the liquid has a relatively low viscosity like a beverage or liquid detergent, etc. However, if the contained liquid is a less flowable liquid with a high viscosity such as a printing ink, it can happen that while all the quantity of the contained liquid is discharged, the bag portion near the pouring outlet closes the pouring outlet or that the side faces of the bag adhere to each other at a position near the pouring outlet, thereby preventing the stable discharge of the liquid and causing a large quantity of the contained liquid to remain.
To solve the problem, for example, JP6-211273A proposes a bag-in carton having a bag stuck to the inner faces of the carton, in which only a region slightly larger than one half of the bag on the pouring outlet side is struck and fixed to the inner faces of the carton, and in which when the contained liquid is taken out the non-fixed portion of the bag moves toward the pouring outlet and fits in the portion fixed to the inner faces of the carton, so that almost all the quantity of the contained liquid can be taken out.
Furthermore, JP9-150500A proposes a container having a bag-forming container body, a pouring outlet connected to the container body, and an outer box covering the container body, wherein the pouring outlet of the container body is installed at the central bottom of the outer box, and the container body portion around the pouring outlet is bonded to the bottom of the outer box or a support member is provided for preventing the deformation of the container body portion around the pouring outlet, so that almost all the quantity of the contained liquid can be taken out.
Moreover, JP11-165747A proposes a container, in which a bag having a pouring outlet contains a tubular member for preventing the mutual adhesion of the inner faces of the bag when the liquid is sucked, to allow almost all the quantity of the contained liquid to be taken out.
However, the conventional containers having a bag each have respectively the following problems.
For example, the bag-in carton of JP6-211273A uses a composite material in which a bag generally formed by a resin film and a carton are stuck to each other. Because of this constitution, when the bag-in carton remaining after taking out the contained liquid is discarded as a waste, the carton and the bag relatively strongly adhering to each other must be troublesomely separated for discharge as sorted refuse.
In the container of JP9-150500A, the pouring outlet must be provided at the center of the bottom of the container body, and thus degree of freedom in the installation position of the pouring outlet is small. Furthermore, the entire container is required to have a symmetrical long form having two almost cubic forms disposed side by side on both sides of the pouring outlet. Moreover, for preventing that the pouring outlet is closed, a constitution for inducing the non-fixed bag portion to be folded into the bag portion fixed near the pouring outlet, for example, by a support member must be adopted respectively on both the side areas, which makes the entire structure complicated.
In the container of JP11-165747A, the bag used as the outer material of the container is formed, for example, with a flexible synthetic resin sheet, and it may have a pinhole or be broken due to falling, vibration, compression, etc., to leak the contained liquid during handling and transportation. If the film is thickened to have a sufficient bag breaking strength, the film is less likely to be housed inside the tubular member when the contained liquid is taken out, adversely affecting the liquid discharge performance or increasing the remaining quantity. Furthermore, if any information concerning the contained liquid such as a trade name and cautions is printed on the synthetic resin sheet, the information becomes difficult to read or unable to be read during use disadvantageously since the bag is deformed as the contained liquid is taken out. If the information is printed on the non-deformable portion of the synthetic resin sheet supported with the tubular member, a sufficient space for printing the information may not be able to be obtained.
The object of this invention is to solve the problems of these conventional flexible containers, by providing a flexible liquid container suitable for packaging a liquid with a high viscosity or a liquid sensitive to the contact with air.
According to this invention, the object of this invention can be achieved by a liquid container, which is composed of a bag-forming flexible container body, a pouring outlet provided to communicate with the inside of the container body, and a support member disposed in the container body for inhibiting the deformation of the container body occurring near the pouring outlet when the contained liquid is sucked, characterized in that the support member is a member reinforcing the container body with a form like a funnel narrowed at the pouring outlet.
In this invention, xe2x80x9ca form like a funnelxe2x80x9d generally means a form in which one end is widely opened while the other end is narrowed like a small hole, and is not limited to a form coaxial from one end to the other end as observed with experimental or cooking instruments, but can also be eccentric from one end to the other end as described in the following examples. Furthermore, it is not required that the support member per se is formed like a funnel, as far as the flexible bag is reinforced with a form like a funnel.
Thus, according to this invention, since the region near the pouring outlet of the container body is reinforced with a form like a funnel, the contained liquid is stably discharged, being guided by the portion reinforced with a form like a funnel, when taken out, and in addition, the non-reinforced portion of the container body can be smoothly housed into the portion reinforced with a form like a funnel conveniently. If the dimensions of the funnel-like reinforced portion are properly selected to suit the size of the bag, it can be prevented that when the contained liquid is taken out, the pouring outlet is closed with the portion of the container body housed in the reinforcing portion. Especially in the case where almost one half of the surface area of the bag is reinforced with the support member, even if the non-reinforced portion of the container body is housed in the reinforcing portion, it does not close the pouring outlet.
In this invention, the container body is not especially limited in form, but generally it is an elongated body which is cylindrical, quadrangular or polygonal, and it is convenient to form the pouring outlet at one of the closed end faces of the bag.
In the case where the container body is a bag formed like an almost quadrangular prism, it is preferable that the pouring outlet is formed at a closing end face of the bag, and that the support member holds the form of the end face and the forms of portions on the end face side of the four bag side faces adjacent to the end face, thereby reinforcing the container body with a form like a funnel. In this case, for example, the support member can be composed of hard sheet members extending along the end face of the bag and along portions on the end face side of the four bag side faces adjacent to the end face. Furthermore, the support member may also be composed of hard sheet members extending along the end face of the bag and along portions on the end face side of a pair of mutually opposing bag side faces adjacent to the end face.
Moreover, in the case where the container body is a bag formed like an almost quadrangular prism, the following constitution can be adopted; the pouring outlet is formed at a closed end face of the bag, and the support member is formed to support two faces, i.e., the end face of the bag and any one of bag side faces adjacent to the end face, while the pouring outlet is disposed adjacently to the angle formed by the two faces, thereby reinforcing the container body with a form like a funnel. In this case, the support member can be composed of hard sheet members extending along the two faces. Furthermore, the support member can also be composed of the above mentioned hard sheet members extending along the two faces and a pair of mutually opposing triangular sheet members which are respectively connected at two of the edges thereof with the former sheet members. Alternatively, the support member can be composed of a pair of triangular sheet members disposed along the a pair of mutually opposing bag side faces adjacent to both the two faces, and beam members connecting the pair of sheet members with each other.
The sheet members of the support member can be provided with openings, or can also be entirely or partially bonded to the container body.
The pouring outlet can be fixed to the support member or formed integrally with the support member. The container body can also be provided with an outer box for covering the body.